Heart of Stone and Heart of Water
by Sparrow Windsinger
Summary: A ficlet about a water chimera I made. Full summary on the fiction. Oh yeah and sorry but it's just the four of them plus chimera. No Xelloss or Filia or anything.
1. The Woman of Water

Legal Disclaimer: I do not own the Slayers, but I do own Sansurei. Remember that, and don't sue me.  
  
Author: Catchfire (Sparrow Windsinger) (SJJR) Name: Heart of stone and Heart of Water Category: Serious, drama/comedy, Ficlet. Fandom: The Slayers Warnings: No warnings, really. Nothing disturbing, no loveydovey stuff (despite the title) and no blood. Just a little ficlet about some random chimera I made once. Additional comments: Nothing more to add.  
  
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1 : The Woman of Water  
  
Lina pulled a wing of chicken from Gourry's hands, ignoring the two people that had been standing behind her for the past ten minutes. They stood a little more, and then one moved. "Excuse me." Lina spun around, irritated that they should have interrupted her meal. "Yeah? *Schrunch* Wha' i' it? *schrunch schrunch schrunch*" "You are Miss Lina Inverse?" "Yeah, what about it?" He sighed. "My name is Alexi. My partner is called Daxan. We would like to talk to you for a little." Lina smiled sweetly and gestured the bench opposite her. "Please be seated then, and what would you like to tell me?" Alexi and Daxan exchanged glances, and then Daxan spoke up. "In private, please, Miss Inverse." She stood. "Very well. Where would be private enough to you?" "Out of this inn." The blond male attacking a whole cow leg who sat next to her looked up in surprise. "No. Wherever Lina goes, I go." "I'm sorry. What we have to say is for Miss Inverse's ears alone." Lina sighed. This was going on too long. "Gourry, just stay here. If I need you, I'll call." "Okay Lina." He went back to his cow. Lina followed the two men out of the inn, and as they left Daxan glanced over his shoulder at her table. The young, white- clad hooded man who sat quietly against the wall was still watching them intently with a pair of icy blue eyes, with no movement, no emotion whatsoever. They were deadpan eyes, they had been fixed on them ever since they approached the table and they were still not looking away. Daxan shuddered and looked away. They led her around the back of the inn, into the thinly scattered trees a little way off behind that part of the town. They stopped in a clearing and Lina sat down on the ground with her back against a tree. The men sat down as well, and then Alexi began. "Miss Inverse-" "Call me Lina." "Lina. You are, I have heard, well accustomed to quests?" "Yes, a sort. Why?" "We have a quest for you." "Continue... Tell me more about this quest." "About a mile outside of town, there is a laboratory. It was experimenting with semi-immortal chimeras, and of course was illegal. Four months ago there was a fire, and the south wing collapsed. The scientist, who we believe to have been called Jaku Manri, was killed along with several of his chimeras. We removed the remaining chimeras and checked them against his lists. Two were missing. We sent some officers in, but three of them were killed and another five badly, although not mortally, injured. They destroyed the chimera, but nobody will go in to get the other one. We wondered if you would like to do that. We will of course pay you richly." Lina considered this for a moment, and then eyed them deviously. "What would you pay me?" Alexi glanced at Daxan, who reached into his rucksack and took out four small bags. He held them two in each hand. "Does gold suit your liking, Lina? And diamonds?" Lina's jaw fell. Daxan smirked, seeing little dollar signs in her irises. "Two of these bags contain gold coins, two are full of diamonds. We would pay you half in advance, if that suited you. If you failed or ran away, you would still keep that much. Does that sound good?" "Yes!!" She cried, grabbing at the bags. She slipped them into her money pouch, and stood. Alexi and Daxan stood also. "Do we have your agreement?" "You do!" She shook their hands tightly. "Right, where do I start?" "We are not coming with you. Here is a little map so that you don't get lost, you are free to continue in the manner that you choose." "Then I shall start straight away. I'll see you later!" She walked happily back to the inn, and grabbed Gourry and Zel's hands. "Come on! We have a quest to do!"  
  
***  
  
"Whoa, this place is freeeaky...." Lina looked up at the lab. It was four storeys high, the North and South wings being two storeys high. There were scorch marks on the main building, from where the North wing had collapsed in flames. Zelgadis just shrugged. "Well, come on. We've got a chimera to find!" Lina walked confidently towards the doors, skipped up the four long steps to the big oak doors and pushed. Nothing happened. "Well come on!" She pushed again. Nothing. "Errrrk!" She banged her fist hard against the wood in exasperation, and the door swung open. "Oh..." They stepped inside, and the door gently closed. Lina freaked out a little. "There's probably a pad or something that's been programmed to close the door. If it's illegal then there will be all sorts of security checks." Zelgadis pointed out. Lina nodded, and took a step forward. "*cough, cough* Ahh, the dust! *cough, cough, cough*" Gourry's clear voice rang out in the stillness. "Light come forth." The Sword of Light flared, illuminating the room. There was a blue door in front of them, and it was the only door in the room."I guess it's through the blue door, then." sighed Lina, and pulled the handle. It opened straight away. They stood in a brightly lit corridor, lined with doors. As they walked down it Lina read out some of the names. "Neuroscience? Palaeontology? Ecology? Mythology? This guy was serious!" Zelgadis' eyes flicked across the names as well. "Would you have to know Mythology, Ecology, Palaeontology, just to create chimeras?" Mused Lina. "Yes, if you want to make really good ones." "How?" "Well, Palaeontology to know the genetic make-ups of extinct creatures, Ecology, to know what it would die of if exposed to, and Mythology for ideas. But that's just one combination." Lina nodded. "I guess." They came to the end of the long corridor a little later, and Gourry read out the name printed on the door. "Main E-r-- dksf.... Are some letters missing?" "Yeah. Come on." She pushed the door open, and looked around inside. "What's in there?" asked Gourry. "S'all dark. Can't see anything." Zelgadis sighed, reached past her and flicked the light on. "Oh, I can see now. Right and... Oh Cepheid..." "What?" Zelgadis stepped into the room as well. "Oh...!" The room was full of empty tanks. At least fifty of them lined the floor, and they were all full of clear liquid. "What's that over there?" Lina tried to make out what it was in the shimmering half-light. An enormous metal canister, six feet long and four feet wide, and about nine or ten feet deep, lay horizontally on the floor against the wall. Lina walked up to it. "I wonder what this is for... Oh, what's this?" "A wheel." replied Zelgadis. "Try turning it." Lina did. Nothing happened. She pulled, expecting lots of resistance, but there was none. The lid flew off and Lina stumbled backwards and hit the ground, buried under the big lid. Amelia cried out and ran to help her, but Zelgadis was much more interested in the contents of the canister. And Gourry did what Zelgadis did and looked at the canister blankly. "Lina?" "Nffff...!" "Lina?" "Owowowow! This thing is heavy!" "Lina?" "Try turning over miss Lina, that might help?" "Lina?" "Oh! Thank Cepheid for that! That was very heavy. Hasn't this scientist heard of Aluminium? Ach!" "Lina?" What is it, Zelgadis?" "You found the other Chimera." "What? Ah... What is that thing?" "The Chimera. I said that." "Ick..." The said Chimera lay floating in thick liquid, looking a funny colour in the half-light. It looked part rotted, with slimy looking skin and closed eyes. It had long elvish ears, and it's skin was pale. It's hair was dark and long. It also seemed to have... were they wings? Could be. Lina looked at it for a moment. Then, as she was about to go back and drag the lid back on, it's eyes flew open. Lina almost screamed. They were pale blue, and very pretty. It's mouth opened and shut a few times, and it suddenly rocked the whole canister over and raised itself on it's hands and knees, spitting the concoction that it had been suspended in on to the floor. It's enormous wings opened and shut a few times, like a butterfly's on a jasmine leaf. Then it stood. "Hello. Who are you?" It's voice was female, like it's body. Lina grinned widely at her. "Hi. I'm Lina Inverse. Who are you?" "You may call me Sansurei. I know you." "Do you?" asked Lina in surprise. "I'm sure I don't know you." "I'm not surprised. But you see, it was written in my future history that you would come to set me free." "You talk in riddles, Sansurei. What do you mean, future history?" Asked Zelgadis "Don't you know? You whole life is written out in your future history. Once you know what kind of person you are, you can see your future history written out in front of you. You know the choices that you will make, and then you can understand the outcomes. If you really know about future history, then you can see your whole life laid out, the people you'll meet, what choices they'll make, things like that. What is your name, by the way?" "I'm Zelgadis Greiwyrds. This is Gourry Gabriev, and this is Amelia wil tesla Seyruun. Pleased to meet you." She shook their hands pleasantly, if a little wetly. "So. We are going back to the town and you will be paid?" "Yes... how did you know?" "Oh, I know all about you. Didn't I already tell you that?" "Yeah..."  
  
*** 


	2. The Man of Stone

2 : The Man of Stone  
  
Sansurei led them from the room and into the corridor which they had come down. As she opened the door, the light from the sharp halogen bulbs struck her squarely in the eyes. She winced but continued to walk down the corridor. She appeared to be counting the doors, and two doors away from the end of the corridor she pushed open the door (toxicology) and led Lina and Co. out. The room was missing half of it's walls and Sansurei just walked right out into the open air. She turned to Lina. "Miss Inverse, I am out of my depth. Now it is your turn to lead me."  
  
***  
  
That night, they were sitting around an open fire in the trees. Lina had, on Sansurei's advice, mugged Alexi and Daxan and grabbed the other half of her payment. Sansurei watched them, Lina and Gourry fighting, as usual, over the food, and Amelia trying to stop them. She longed for civilised company, and the person here civilised enough for her was Zelgadis. She got up, walked over to him and sat down opposite him. "Irritating?" She asked. Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "Unbearable would be a better term, I think." They continued in this vein for sometime, until Zelgadis fell silent. After a while he fell asleep. In reply to Sansurei's questioning look, Lina muttered thickly "He's been walking for three days without sleep. Even Zel has to sleep sometimes." Sansurei nodded. She sat for a while, musing on how glad she was that Lina had mugged the two men instead of handing her, Sansurei, over to them. Much later, when the fire had died and Lina and Gourry were asleep, Sansurei looked at Zel's sleeping face. The she thought about her future history concerning Gourry. "How dare he think that I loved Zelgadis. He's far too blue." Then she rose and made her way to the cliff edge where the sea boomed and the salt was thick on the rocks. She had half a mind to stay with the group of travelling warriors, so she consulted her future history. "No. It would not be wise." She decided. "And besides, travelling with Zelgadis is not an option for me. I don't love him, but he could come to love me.... No. He has a heart of stone, and me, a heart of water. We are truly opposites." And with that deciding thought she jumped off the cliff and into the cool, salty water at which she was most at home. _I am eternally grateful to you, Miss Inverse, for bringing me home_ Then she breathed in the water and beat her long wings, and she was shooting off through the waves. Storms were not an obstacle to the woman of water. 


End file.
